Baby I've Got My Eye On You
Twenty Two
I knew we had pulled up right outside my house, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at it. Brian switched off the car engine and turned to me. It was now Saturday, an exciting yet exhaustingly stressful day for Sevenfold as they began touring again, except this time, they had the added bonus of me and my sister’s feminine habits that would no doubt drive them mad within a few days. Having slept – or should I say not slept – at Brian’s house all week, I was beginning to adopt the idea of never facing my father again, until the thought struck me that I would need clothes and stuff for when we were away. I had tried to force Brian into going to get it without me, but he refused saying I was taking stretching things a bit too far and should perhaps sympathise with my dad more; in the end, after much of my childish sulking, we agreed that I’d go with Brian to get my stuff and could wait in the car if I hadn’t changed my mind.
I looked up to meet Brian’s stare and felt quite the bitch as I shrugged stubbornly in his dark hazel gaze.
“I think you should go in, Roz” he said, but I shook my head.
“I don’t want to Brian, I really don’t want to”
“But you might regret it later, when we’re hundreds of miles away and you’ve got no way of talking to him…”
“I don’t have anyway of talking to him now!” I said, “You saw how he just sat…passive. Please Brian.”
“The things I do for you are unreal” He grumbled, opening the car door but not before taking a quick kiss, as if to say ‘you owe me one’.
I watched him walk up the cobbled garden path to the doorway; stupidly enough, he knocked. What did he think would happen? I thought he knew better than that, given the thought that my Dad now wouldn’t move from his chair unless his liver felt slightly less pickled than the norm. Brian stood there like a vegetable for a moment, and just as I was about to wind down window and yell “just go in you idiot!”, he pushed open the door and went inside.
Syn POV
Roz was being ridiculous, yet I knew from the breaking tone in her small voice that her worries were genuine: just not for the reasons she argued. Every time I made an attempt to convince her to at least go say goodbye to her dad properly, she’d make a sour excuse like “he made clear he didn’t want to see me last time”; even Beth couldn’t persuade her as she kept to her mechanical-like story that she hated her dad for not caring. In reality, I could see in her eyes that the real reason she refused to go back was because she was frightened of what she might see, or feel. I’d be the first to say that Roz had some severe emotional difficulties when it came to people she loved best. She acted unfazed by it all but it was just a mask. Really, the thought of seeing her Dad hammered drunk and unable to communicate with her, was another ‘nail in the coffin’ of the life she was accustomed to, and I knew from the hard time I had getting to know her, that change was hard.
“The things I do for you are unreal,” I said as I quickly brought her head up from looking at her shoes and stole a kiss. I didn’t want to be long, just grab the stuff from her wardrobe and shove it in a bag she said was under her bed, but when I got there, I could have killed her. Typical woman, typical mile long rail of clothes and a fucking mountain of shoes. I rolled my eyes as I looked at it all, having no idea about what she’d want to bring and what not. I threw in the stuff I’d seen her in before, jeans, babydoll band tees, some sleeveless tops; some things I hadn’t seen before somehow found there way in too…some ridiculously short skirts and a bikini. I think I deserve that.
Whistling as I went back down stairs, I nearly shit myself in shock as Roz’s dad stood in the doorway. He was looking in my direction, but I not directly at me. He hadn’t changed his clothes since the first time I saw him.
“Oh… hello…Mr Ellison” I said, but he walked off in to the kitchen; unfortunately for me, I’d have to pass through there to get outside.
“I just came by to get some stuff for Roz” I said, a little louder “…y’know… for the tour…”
He said nothing. I was starting to become pissed off with this, I didn’t like what it was doing to my girlfriend, but I took a leaf out of his book and remained unresponsive and started for the door.
“Look after her” I heard him say. I was shocked. His voice was rusty and tired. When I turned, he was looking right at me. “Just make sure she’s okay.”
I nodded: “Yeah…Yeah I will.”
I went to leave again, but his surprising movement to my direction stopped me, his hand locked around my arm, preventing me from doing so. If he was going to try something, I’d easily knock him out…though Roz would probably have something to say about that…
“I still love her you know” he said, “I still love both of them”
“You should tell her” I said “She’s outside, just go and tell her”, but he shook his head and went back to his seat. At this point I’d had enough, enough of this ridiculous and empty feud and stormed out the door. Roz looked frightened as she saw me marching up to the car: I threw he bag in the back and pulled her from the passenger seat.
“Brian!” she squealed as I carried her into the house “Stop it! Put me down!”
“Go and talk to your dad, now” I said, dropping her gently and cupping her face with both my hands. I could see that tears were starting to form in the corners of her sparkling eyes.
“Roz baby” I whispered, “You have to do this. You’ll feel better, I promise.”
“Brian no-”
“Just trust me”
“Dad?” she choked out as she turned towards him, and thank fuck he looked at her for once. “I’m going now Dad. I won’t be back for a few weeks…”
He took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. I watched him whisper something in her ear, unable to hear what, but whatever he said, seemed to mean everything to Roz. Her eyes now brimmed with water but curled in a way that somehow said it wasn’t sadness she felt anymore. I took her hand as she came over to me.
“Alright?” I said, and she nodded, sniffling away the tears, but looking a little more hopeful.
“What did he say?” I asked cautiously as I drove us to Jimmy’s to meet everyone before we got on the bus. She was fixing her makeup in the mirror but stopped and gave a small smile.
“He said he approved of you.”
I looked up to meet Brian’s stare and felt quite the bitch as I shrugged stubbornly in his dark hazel gaze.
“I think you should go in, Roz” he said, but I shook my head.
“I don’t want to Brian, I really don’t want to”
“But you might regret it later, when we’re hundreds of miles away and you’ve got no way of talking to him…”
“I don’t have anyway of talking to him now!” I said, “You saw how he just sat…passive. Please Brian.”
“The things I do for you are unreal” He grumbled, opening the car door but not before taking a quick kiss, as if to say ‘you owe me one’.
I watched him walk up the cobbled garden path to the doorway; stupidly enough, he knocked. What did he think would happen? I thought he knew better than that, given the thought that my Dad now wouldn’t move from his chair unless his liver felt slightly less pickled than the norm. Brian stood there like a vegetable for a moment, and just as I was about to wind down window and yell “just go in you idiot!”, he pushed open the door and went inside.
Syn POV
Roz was being ridiculous, yet I knew from the breaking tone in her small voice that her worries were genuine: just not for the reasons she argued. Every time I made an attempt to convince her to at least go say goodbye to her dad properly, she’d make a sour excuse like “he made clear he didn’t want to see me last time”; even Beth couldn’t persuade her as she kept to her mechanical-like story that she hated her dad for not caring. In reality, I could see in her eyes that the real reason she refused to go back was because she was frightened of what she might see, or feel. I’d be the first to say that Roz had some severe emotional difficulties when it came to people she loved best. She acted unfazed by it all but it was just a mask. Really, the thought of seeing her Dad hammered drunk and unable to communicate with her, was another ‘nail in the coffin’ of the life she was accustomed to, and I knew from the hard time I had getting to know her, that change was hard.
“The things I do for you are unreal,” I said as I quickly brought her head up from looking at her shoes and stole a kiss. I didn’t want to be long, just grab the stuff from her wardrobe and shove it in a bag she said was under her bed, but when I got there, I could have killed her. Typical woman, typical mile long rail of clothes and a fucking mountain of shoes. I rolled my eyes as I looked at it all, having no idea about what she’d want to bring and what not. I threw in the stuff I’d seen her in before, jeans, babydoll band tees, some sleeveless tops; some things I hadn’t seen before somehow found there way in too…some ridiculously short skirts and a bikini. I think I deserve that.
Whistling as I went back down stairs, I nearly shit myself in shock as Roz’s dad stood in the doorway. He was looking in my direction, but I not directly at me. He hadn’t changed his clothes since the first time I saw him.
“Oh… hello…Mr Ellison” I said, but he walked off in to the kitchen; unfortunately for me, I’d have to pass through there to get outside.
“I just came by to get some stuff for Roz” I said, a little louder “…y’know… for the tour…”
He said nothing. I was starting to become pissed off with this, I didn’t like what it was doing to my girlfriend, but I took a leaf out of his book and remained unresponsive and started for the door.
“Look after her” I heard him say. I was shocked. His voice was rusty and tired. When I turned, he was looking right at me. “Just make sure she’s okay.”
I nodded: “Yeah…Yeah I will.”
I went to leave again, but his surprising movement to my direction stopped me, his hand locked around my arm, preventing me from doing so. If he was going to try something, I’d easily knock him out…though Roz would probably have something to say about that…
“I still love her you know” he said, “I still love both of them”
“You should tell her” I said “She’s outside, just go and tell her”, but he shook his head and went back to his seat. At this point I’d had enough, enough of this ridiculous and empty feud and stormed out the door. Roz looked frightened as she saw me marching up to the car: I threw he bag in the back and pulled her from the passenger seat.
“Brian!” she squealed as I carried her into the house “Stop it! Put me down!”
“Go and talk to your dad, now” I said, dropping her gently and cupping her face with both my hands. I could see that tears were starting to form in the corners of her sparkling eyes.
“Roz baby” I whispered, “You have to do this. You’ll feel better, I promise.”
“Brian no-”
“Just trust me”
“Dad?” she choked out as she turned towards him, and thank fuck he looked at her for once. “I’m going now Dad. I won’t be back for a few weeks…”
He took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. I watched him whisper something in her ear, unable to hear what, but whatever he said, seemed to mean everything to Roz. Her eyes now brimmed with water but curled in a way that somehow said it wasn’t sadness she felt anymore. I took her hand as she came over to me.
“Alright?” I said, and she nodded, sniffling away the tears, but looking a little more hopeful.
“What did he say?” I asked cautiously as I drove us to Jimmy’s to meet everyone before we got on the bus. She was fixing her makeup in the mirror but stopped and gave a small smile.
“He said he approved of you.”